Dungeons and Dalliances

6.15 – Training Yard

It was weird being a minor celebrity of sorts.

Indeed, as their first impression had suggested, several of the men and women down in The Kraken's Hearth had been waiting on the arrival of the Tenet squad. And that was the source of their immediate admiration: Tenet. The prestige of Valhaur's oldest and most accomplished delving academy.

Though Natalie and her team were only level two and three—an accomplishment not all that hard to reach, objectively speaking—it wasn't so much about their raw strength as their skill. A tiny number of Valhaur's population was accepted into Tenet, and the amount who applied was massive. As such, even the worst students training there were leagues better than someone found in a random adventuring inn inside a small city. So it wasn't all that surprising that people, especially other monster-hunters or aspirant delvers, would be interested in meeting them.

Hence, they were celebrities of sorts.

They obviously didn't know who Liz was, since their attention was on all of them equally. Liz appreciated that: she reverted to her casual, more bubbly self, rather than the brief image Natalie had caught of her acting more … well, noblewoman-y.

There were other obvious reasons for them drawing eyes. Natalie was, of course, talking about their gear.

Up until this point, Natalie could take solace in the fact that, down in the dungeon, her revealing attire would go mostly unnoticed. Even when walking through the streets of Aradon to reach the dungeon entrance, she wore cover-up clothing atop her skimpy metal armor. But now that they would be fighting on the surface, she had to face reality. In particular, a decision between modesty and efficiency. She could just keep her cover-up clothing on all the time, which would look slightly awkward and also make her lose out on [Stylish]'s stat bonuses, or she could embrace her new life and put her body fully on display. For anyone to see.

She settled for the middle ground. The tiny cup of metal cramming in her not-so-secret secret between her legs was a bit too scandalous to wear into public, but the metal bra, at least, was something she could tolerate—if with constantly prickling skin because of how revealing it was. Delvers knew that a person hardly got to pick what loot they got in the dungeon, so in that regard they wouldn't think Natalie was trying to wear revealing armor, but at the same time, they knew she could cover up. So they would assume it was a choice of hers.

Natalie would just have to deal with that. Not that she hated all the looks she got. She already had a reputation for 'getting around' with other girls, and had grown okay with that, but that'd always been because of how easily she flirted, not how much skin she showed. She wasn't used to being brazen in this particular way.

She considered using [Illusion] to cover herself, but there were two obvious reasons that wasn't a viable solution. First, the waste of resources. [Illusions] drained mana the longer they persisted. Second, they could be seen through, and if not that, then identified as an illusion by other mages. Somehow, the idea of covering herself up only for someone to peek through and see the reality of the situation felt twice as lewd as just owning the outfit. What would they think? That she was trying to get away with something? That she was a secret exhibitionist?

So. For now, she wore her erotite armor as-was, except for a simple mid-thigh skirt to add some modesty. It was a good mix between slightly mortifying to wear in public, but also a solid boost through [Stylish].

Ana, at least, was there to draw some of the attention away. Her mage's robes were easily as eye-grabbing as Natalie's erotite armor. She had also fully embraced [Stylish], not caring at all what other people thought of it. The only attempt at modesty she made was using double-sided tape to keep the ribbons of fabric from fluttering away and baring her body entirely. Down in the dungeon, she didn't even bother to do that. Natalie was constantly catching glimpses of the girl's nipples whenever a breeze fluttered or when she moved too fast. Which Natalie wasn't complaining about. Definitely, Ana was getting the most use out of [Stylish] of any of them. Even Liz stole peeks, here and there.

As they headed out into the training yard, a number of individuals joined them. Natalie ended up in a conversation with a young man around her own age, maybe a year or two older. For the most part, he managed to keep his eyes on Natalie's own. She couldn't really blame the few glances he stole. Especially when he seemed more flustered to be talking to a 'student of Tenet' than a girl wearing armor as revealing as some lingerie. But he seemed far more interested in asking her questions about delving and Tenet than hitting on her, and she found that flustered eagerness endearing.

Then, the conversation took an interesting turn.

"Wait. You're a [Lumberjack]?" Natalie asked. "And you want to become a delver?"

Gareth sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "It sounds ridiculous, I know. But it's not like it hasn't ever happened before. If a [Farmer] can do it, why couldn't a [Lumberjack]?"

Natalie stared at him. He was obviously referencing the Reaper, a Valhaurian top-ranker whose class was, allegedly, some variation of [Farmer]. Despite not being the most accomplished of delvers—as far as top-rankers went, at least, who, as a whole, were some of the strongest individuals in the nation—he was inordinately famous. An inspiration to many technically non-combat classes. As far as Natalie was concerned, though, he was an inspiration to go and get one's self killed pursuing a nearly impossible dream. Which Natalie guessed most delvers were guilty of, with how recklessly they pursued advancement, but still.

"He's the exception that proves the rule," Natalie said, her tone disapproving. "Even with a class meant for killing monsters, the dungeon is dangerous. Not even every Tenet student makes it through the year."

"Yeah. That's true. But my class has some potential, at least," Gareth said. "I have a skill that makes axe-chopping stronger. Not all that different from a real combat skill, right?"

Natalie gave him a dubious look.

"I know," Gareth sighed. "It's a bad idea. But it's gonna happen. I just—don't want to be a lumberman for the rest of my life." He shrugged. "I want to do something more."

Natalie couldn't fault him for having aspirations. Even if they were suicidal ones. But still.

"Even if I can't make a real career out of it, anyway, it'll be more exciting. And better paying," he added. "And who knows? Maybe my future skills will be more oriented toward fighting if fighting is all I do. Just have to get over the hump."

"It is possible," Natalie said reluctantly. "But it's more possible you die before that happens. You're at a huge disadvantage."

"Yup," Gareth said. "I know. But that's my choice." He hesitated, then blushed. "You came out here to train, right? Do you think you could, uh, tell me how screwed I am, maybe?"

Natalie's eyebrows went up. "You want to spar?"

"Just a quick match. If you don't mind."

"I'm level three. You're level one. And a [Lumberjack]."

"Not planning on winning," he laughed. "Just wanna get an idea for how bad of an idea it is, like I said. You're from Tenet. You'd be able to tell me. Maybe change my mind?" He said it jokingly, as if trying to taunt her into a spar.

Natalie frowned at him. Not because she was unamused—he was an affable fellow—but because she really was concerned for him.

Obviously, a spar wouldn't teach her much of anything, but she'd come out here to warm up more than train.

"I've been practicing," Gareth added. "I'm better than you think. Promise."

"Hm," Natalie said. "We'll see about that." She gestured to one of the open sparring areas. "There's a free spot over there."